Back on Plastik
Survive Me
Rock With You
Hyper Nation United Future
I Can't Breathe
Galaxy Man
Forgive Me
Good Girl

See Hiko's MySpace page
for more info on how to listen to and download her music.

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Hiko Suzuki Interview

What do you get when you combine a silky, sexy voice with the fashion sense of Japan's
Shibuya and Shinjuku districts? That would be the up and coming singer Hiko Suzuki. Hiko
has been making a name for herself in Tokyo with her fast paced English songs and fashion
packed music videos.

On May 27th, 2008 the rising star was kind enough to give an interview to
Andrew from J-Pop World.

How would you describe your musical style?

I don't stick to any particular music style, I like pop-rock, techno, R&B, hip-hop, euro-beat...
It is very difficult for me to fit in one pattern. That's why I present different kinds of
music. I'm just following my flow!

How would you describe your fashion style?

My fashion is basically just picked up from Tokyo street fashion. Sometimes I want to wear
an ultra mini skirt with high-heels. Sometimes I want to put on a lovely Lolita fashion.
Sometimes I want to put on punk Lolita style. Sometimes hip hop baggy pants, sometimes an
expensive casual outfit such as brand-name jeans and knit jumper. Sometimes I mix-up many casual
brands from 109, which is one of my favorite fashion department stores. That place is
awesome, a girls fashion paradise department store. I wish 109 spreads to the whole
world. ^_^

You described the song Survive Me as being "my super LOVE song that I received from
somewhere like a heavenly place, it came down from above." Tell us more about the song.

I had a small piece of melody for a long time but nothing really came out from it. I always
carried the small melody on my mobile phone. One day I was taking a walk on my favorite
beach. When I arrived at the sea front I felt a weak breeze that put me into a very relaxing mood,
like I was wrapped in the sea and nature. I always feel like that when I go there.

Then I said to myself: "You're the happiest moment that I've ever had. I'll be forever
grateful for this to you. You've gave me your love." After that everything came so smooth.
In a few hours or so I had done the whole track including the lyrics. This songs' lyrics are
not so long, but I thought "this is enough." Also the line "You're the happiest moment..." that must be a funny
English expression, but I just left it as is because I think it is fine.

I could convince myself so easily that this song was fine with a simple lyric -- that is very
rare for me. When I make a new track I often take awhile and lyrics are modified a lot over
the time... "This is not good, should it be like this?" I keep modifying. But the process of
this song was extraordinary fast and smooth. That is nothing but a gift from somewhere very
special I believe. ^_-

Tell us about the song Good Girl. What were you thinking about when you wrote it?

Perhaps Good Girl is about me, my friends, and it could be any other girls. I think all girls
think of themselves as good girls, but sometimes there is a misunderstanding. People see the
image of someone but miss the entire character of that person. So you wanna speak out
"Actually, I am a good girl! Look at me!" ^0^ This song's beat came earlier than the lyrics
in my head.

One of my friends looks very punk or sometimes Gothic with a lot of face piercing and blue
hair and sometimes green on some part of her hair. Her appearance is very tough but she is
very sweet and soft, has a sweet boyfriend. She never makes trouble, she is a good girl. We
cannot judge the people just from their looks. I believed this was a good story for an R&B
type song from me because there are so many 'cheating, love matters' R&B songs out there.

What's the story behind your song Galaxy Man?

Galaxy Man is one of my space fantasies ^_^ I always love space stuff: stars, planets,
spaceships, warping through the starry dimensions. First I wanted to make something very
exotic for the song. I decided to put some Arabian flavor into the music and lyrics.

The story was like that. The girl met a very exotic and cool guy riding on a camel in the
desert... But while I was developing the sound I suddenly changed my mind and the story
became a galaxy love story. That is also an exotic story, isn't it? So I thought this is all
right! A girl meets a boy from space instead of an Arabian boy ^_^ and I added many sound
effects from space.

This is also my first music video with only me in it. It has a special place in my heart. I
wish I could be in a big space sci-fi movie one day. ^_^

Your website currently features four music videos. Tell us about the people involved in
creating them.

About High Society Girl and Rock With You: I was able to access a Scandinavian model-casting database. I posted in the classified
that I was looking for female models who have no suntanned skin and a height of around 166-170cm.
The reason why the models had to be without suntans is that I don't think my favorite
Elegant and Gothic Lolita fashion suits with it. The reason why the models height had to be
particularly around 166-170cm is because my height is 166cm. That way all the girls' height
can be balanced. I didn't wanna see a funny irregular picture in the film.

And I made an audition in a room at a school (lol) and those girls in the video were the
selected girls. ^_- I got lots of diligent pretty models who didn't look boring. I think each
of them has a very nice character. All the girls are very enchanting in the clothes that I
selected. One interesting thing was almost all the models like Lolita fashion, though they
didn't know what it was. After shooting they asked me where they can buy those, so I gave
them the name of a Japanese store which had English service.

So some of the girls were models, some go-go girls and some are just "neighbor" girls.

I got a great hair & make-up artist through the artist database, too. She is a brilliant
artist. She quickly understood what I wanted and she is very fast at making all kinds of
hair styles. During shooting she just brought one assistant and she made so many hairstyles
for all 7 models at the High Society Girl video -- that was amazingly quick and excellently
finished.

And also lots of my friends were involved. One of my friends is very good at technical
stuff. She controlled the music, film stuff and so on while we were filming. I hired the
big guys who can carry around the big lights and sun reflector panels, stuff like that. Some
are the models' boyfriends or my friends boyfriends. ^_^ I like to keep it simple.

Have you always been so comfortable in front of a camera or was it something you had to
work on?

I'm not always comfortable with it, but usually I am fine with it. Nothing really, I just
take a chance to get good results. Sometimes I'm bitchy and think everybody sucks and
sometimes I am very happy and invent many new funny poses that are full of energy.

What groups were you in before? Do you keep in touch with old band members?

Hiko with Foxys. Foxys is a dance group with 3 girl dancers. But I didn't keep in touch with
them. That was kind of typical group dynamic. One of the girls I could be a good friend
with; looking nice and very talented and sweet. But I think one of the girls had a very bad
boyfriend so I thought I should stay away from her.

Have you traveled overseas?

A lot!! I saw many countries. I am a very cosmopolitan girl! ^_-

I visited many countries in Europe with my uncle and my big brother for a month. And also I
visited many resort places. My favorite resort place is Hawaii -- that is the most common
resort destination for a Japanese family trip.

What are some of your favorite manga or J-doramas?

I like Naruto -- that is a good one! There is more. It's hard to pick.

There are a lot of nice J-doramas. I think J-doramas budgets are big! That's why stories are
nice and casting is nicer than some Japanese films I think. My favorites are the ones that
my favorite actors are appearing in, of course!! There is a new one called "Rookie" that I
like very much. It's funny. And all the boys are handsome. ^-^

Where did you grow up in Tokyo?

I was born in the center of Tokyo. Shibuya, Shinjuku, Aoyama and Roppongi are my territory.

Tell us a little about your childhood.

I was one of the popular girls in the class because I was a very funny girl and very active,
but I guess my teachers and my parents think that I was a troublesome girl! I was always
initiating many fun things which parents thought were too adventurous.

I was a very easy going girl, I said to my mother "See you later!" to go to my piano
teacher's house, but I was playing with my friends in the playground instead of taking piano
lessons a whole summer. And the funny thing about this, is that my mother knew it, but she didn't say
anything -- she just let me play. Somehow I was one of those typical spoiled kids.

Who were your favorite music groups growing up?

From the J-pop world, I liked Tetsuya Komuro's music. He is one of the biggest Japanese
music producers. His music has brilliant melodies. Basically I am used to hit songs from
American and UK hit charts. That is common in Japanese radio.

What musicians do you most admire today?

Humm.. That is a very difficult question. I have so many favorite artists and songs. I like
all John Williams' music -- he is a great music composer. I just keep re-watching the
Harry Potter series because I want to listen to his fantastic music and brilliant film art.
Yes, I would say that I am also a huge fan of the Harry Potter films.

What were your favorite classes in high school?

None! My whole life I hated to study. I don't know why I went to school to be able to
graduate school (lol) :D I guess it's just for my parents sake. Basically I don't like any
school. I am one of the girls that hated school regulations. I had my own rules, same as
other typical Japanese high school girls -- skirt was extremely short and we don't put on
ugly socks with the school logo. I wore other funky socks of my own. That's the basics of
having a nice school life. Have to be cool, cool is a rule!!

But actually I was very good at English and Math. When I was in high school, my Math and
English score was always first or second position in my grades -- always top of the class. I
have a very good memory. Just a few days before an exam I would do power studying. And I was
quite fast at memorizing all the details that I needed for the exams so I could pass it. But
I was also fast to forget, that was not good.

Did your parents have a musical background?

My father is not a musician. But in my head, my father is always a musician. ^_-

He likes playing many instruments, all kinds of guitars and bass and some interesting
percussions, and he has hundreds of records and expensive audio equipments. Even now almost
every evening he plays guitar and floor bass. When all the family is together our house
becomes a very musical family. Somebody plays the piano, somebody plays the guitar or bass
or percussions, somebody sings -- that is one of my favorite family times.

You majored in English literature in college. What type of career were you planning on
while you were still in school?

Nothing really. Many Japanese students go to a university right after finishing high school.
That means we are just about 18 years old. We all were still teenagers. My friends and I
had no idea what to be. Of course I was casually looking for something cool, but cool is
changing a lot like the weather. Some days I feel I wanna be an artist. The next day I
wanna be a fashion designer -- next day I wanna be a writer, like that! Very unpredictable. (^_^;)

I really didn't get any answers from myself. Besides I was very busy hanging around with my
boyfriend and school parties. ^_^ Also I don't know why I picked an English literature course.
I should've picked art or music. I was not so deliberated.

My father is funny. One day he said to me "Going to work, that is the most stupid, wasting
and boring time of life. Don't get a job as long as you don't need it. Until then do some
other fun stuff!" What do you think about my father's comment? I think this is the grooviest
comment about work!

My mother freaked out over his comment! Actually he is a very diligent, successful man in his
business field. That is ironic, isn't it? Also one day my father said to me "I didn't tell
you that you should go to the university just to study. I'm telling you to also find lots of
new friends and have as much fun as you can! Your youth will never come back! "School life is
the most wonderful probation term from the stupid working society."

He has given me a wealthy life full of quality. Though I didn't like to study, I really
enjoyed my school life. My school was quite a good school. All the subjects I studied were
very interesting and we had brilliant teachers and professors. At the time I really didn't
think about a career -- instead I was always thinking what kind of super fun I could make.
And I still do.

What's Hiko's romantic life like? What do you enjoy doing on a date?

I like checking out new hot places on a date. Also I like going to parties and cozy places
together. I only like guys who are romantic.

What do you do to relax?

There are several things; having a hot bath every night and sleeping a lot until I wake up -- that
makes me relax definitely. Walking also relaxes my mind. Singing is good for taking away
tension and gives me energy.

What are some of your favorite foods and drinks?

Basically sweets, cakes, chocolate and ice-creams. Green-tea, coffee, earl grey tea and cold
Assam tea. I am very fussy about food and sweets. It sounds like I am a bit snooty, but I am
not, but I am, haha. I just love delicious food. When I eat delicious chocolates, that is
also my happy moment. @^_^@

What type of exercise and diet do you do?

Humm. I think I am walking a lot. I like to enjoy food, so I can not do a food diet. There is
no particular exercise, but when I feel I shouldn't have eaten that much, then the next day
I walk a lot or go jogging or swimming, trying to move my body. I do elite disco dance class
once a week - a very intense class.

What are your hopes for the future?

To succeed and to remain healthy and make ten babies and still be a sexy, high heel miniskirt
mother. ^_^

Do you have a message to your fans?

Thank you very much for your support for my music and sending so many sweet mails. You make
my day everyday! I uploaded my new music written in Japanese to my page. Please check it out!

I don't really know what J-pop is. Nowadays the whole world's artists sing similar music in
their own languages, especially R&B, hip-hop, and pop-rock. The music is similar around the
whole world to me. I wanted to present something new that I can say is definitely Nippon's
new style of pop music!

My first track is called Back on Plastik! I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed making
it! It has a lot of my favorite sounds wiii wiii wiii!! You will hear it ! ^_^
It has lots of Japanese slang, but I put the translation on my MySpace page.

For more info checkout Hiko Suzuki's MySpace page. ^_^
Leave your comments about this interview and read what others had to say at the following link:
Interview Comments